Metrics, Numbers, Stats

One of these days, when I grow up…I’m gonna be a businessman. I’m gonna keep good records, and manage my finances better, and track all my voice acting activities so I can see where I’m falling short, and where I’m doing well.

I’ll have hard numbers about who is reading my blog, and listening to my audition, and what my booking rate is.

Some day.

Some day, when I turn into a businessman and not just a “talent” or a “tech/geek”.

80/20.

Success in VoiceOver is 80% business and 20% tech/talent. Metrics don’t tell the whole story about how to run a business; but close. Close.

This is the toughest transition to freelancing. If you’ve worked for someone else all your life, you didn’t much have to worry about stats. Now, it’s ALL-important. It’s proof you’re improving…it’s evidence you’re making progress…it’s actually your best measure of success…much better than knowing you were just working today or not.

This is the mantra I tell to the newbie on the other end of the phone with the James Earl Jones voice. I try to impress upon him that if he wants to be a success in VO, he’s gotta be a good businessman first. He’s gotta know how to market, and promote, and plod, and have discipline, and run the marathon, not the sprint.

Most don’t want to listen.

I didn’t.

But here I am…fighting the good fight, and learning some hard lessons about metrics, and numbers and stats. Learning the discipline of forcing myself to keep records, and when the time is right, gleaning from them the fruit of my labor in unyielding facts.

Larry Hudson started down this path about the same time I did, and he has a message for you. In fact, he’s begun a sort of cottage-industry offshoot of his VoiceOver career that will help you keep track of your metrics, too.

You may have gotten the email from him yesterday with a link to his offering about record-keeping. Did you check it out? Even if you don’t want to shell-out his asking price, consider the video he put together with his pitch. Here’s the link: http://www.voheaven.com/auditionlogtutorial.mp4

His basic explanation is something we all can do. Larry’s system is simple and spot-on. If you did NOT get the email, write Larry at: [email protected], or call him at 310-420-8359 and ask him about his service. It’s moderately priced, and might save you the time of having to devise a system yourself.